Etsy Blogger of the Month

Contributors

Sunday, February 28, 2010

This month's Etsy Blogger feature is on Tilt! I love Tilt's creations--bags, duffles, and wrist wallets in such beautiful, funky, or zany fabrics that they're like candy for the eyes. I mean, just look at a few of them:

Tilt has a website, Tilt Creations Too, where she talks about her work, a blog where she features other artists' treasures, Tilt Treasures, another blog where she talks about her own art, other people's art, and the aventure that is life, and an Etsy shop . Every single one of them is worth visiting--I think you'll love what you find as much as I do!

Friday, February 26, 2010

Now, that's kind of a tough decision, when I start thinking about places like New Zealand, where my stepdaughter, granddaughters, and darling great-grandson live, or Edinburgh, Ireland, England, steeped in history and the music I love, or white beaches verged by turquoise seas.

In point of fact, though, it's simple: My dream destination is anywhere I take my camera!

I'll illustrate with some of today's crop of photos. I spent three and a half hours in a basement, helping a friend with her mom's estate sale. (Don't worry; her mom's still very much alive, but recently moved into a retirement center.) I had a great time, because every chance I got, which was anytime there weren't shoppers down there, my camera was clicking away.

Friday, February 19, 2010

Just a quick Friday Fence Post, but I do love the colors and texture of this fence. It's on the other side of the house from the one I photographed last time. And the time before. And there's still more!

The photos are quite large, and the center two especially bear clicking on--while you can't tell it very well from these small views, I've played with them, using various filters.

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Well, the weekend was intense, and tiring, but a good time was had by all. Plus which, I managed not to buy out every nursery in the place, contenting myself with just eight bulbs, passing up even the yellow pine and the hellebores. Let me tell you, that was the hardest part of the entire show. (Well, except for the pieces of art I coveted, not least the creations of my booth mate!)

Here are photos of our booth:

What I want: The stained glass streamers, the bowling ball with the wire and bead "fountain" (which sold, but Megan Klepp, the artist, says I know where to find her), and that orange swirly bowling ball seen in the last photo. And yes, I did say bowling ball, although I don't think I'd score very high using it! But I smile just at the thought of its sparkling out in the yard.

I do wish I'd gotten a better picture of Megan's bird bath. It is the Taj Mahal of its kind, and 100% awesome and wonderful.

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

I don't know about you, but there's been so much going on in my life, so many directions to run in, that I'm feeling positively Frazzled. Not so great, sometimes a bit stressful, jiggety frayed ends of me waving about...Must. Channel. That... Let’s make a Frazzled card!

Here’s what you’ll need:

Blank card and envelope

Fabric large enough to fit the card, front and back (fabric samples work well)

Button

Rayon or other embroidery floss

Glue or double sticky tape

The first thing you’re going to do is choose your fabric. If you have one of those fabric sample books flip through it until you find a piece you like. They’re nice, because they have a paper backing around the edge, but any piece of fabric you like is good.

Take your blank card and open it out flat, and lay it face down on the fabric. By “face down” I mean that you should put the side you’ll write on down, and what would normally be the front of the card facing up. That’s because you’re going to trace around all four sides of the card now, and if your pencil slips you don’t want the marks to show on your finished card.

You can see that my fabric is already nearly the size of the card, but that’s because I had a fabric sample that size. Once you’ve marked your fabric, cut it with pinking shears just outside the marks. You want the fabric to be a little larger than the card. If you have enough fabric, cut a strip as long as your card is wide, maybe an inch wide.

Now choose a button that coordinates with your fabric. Flat buttons work best, but buttons with short shanks can be used, too.

Fold the fabric piece you’ve cut in half, so you’re looking at the front of your finished card. Take the button you’ve chosen, and play with positioning it a bit. Maybe it will look best centered on the card, or maybe near one of the corners. Maybe it wants to sit, centered, near the lower edge. Just move it from place to place until you like what you see.

Thread your needle with the embroidery floss, but don’t tie a knot. Rayon thread is crinkly, and will give shine and a lot of texture. Other option are regular floss, or yarn.

This is where the “Frazzled” part comes in. You’re going to sew the button to the fabric, but not from the back like you’d usually do. Push the needle in from the front, and pull the floss through until an inch and a half or two inches is left, sticking out of the button. Bring the needle through the other hole in the button, and cut the thread, again leaving a tail an inch and a half or two inches long. You can leave longer tails if you like; it’s all up to you.

If your button has four holes, do that twice. Pick up the thread tails and tie them in a knot.

You're almost finished!

Glue the fabric to the card. You can use rubber cement if your fabric has that paper backing. Otherwise, double-sticky tape is the way to go, as the rubber cement may show through the fabric. Glue the extra strip of fabric you cut to the flap of the envelope.

My finished card

Frazzles are really very tactile. You’ll find people want to stroke them, and play with the shiny floss ends.

Thursday, February 4, 2010

Yesterday, I just HAD to have cookies. Not just any old cookies, either. I needed the ones Mama used to whip up when we were kids, cokies that went from cupboard to kid in a flash, and no oven involved, just lots of Yummy. Honestly, it was enough to drive me out of my cozy home into the drizzly cold of a February afternoon, just to buy oatmeal.

It was totally worth it, too, which is why I'm sharing the recipe with you!Yummy Ugly No-Bake Cookies

Melt the butter over low heat. Add the sugar, cocoa, and canned milk. Bring to a boil and let boil 1 minute. Remove from heat and quickly stir in oats, peanut butter, and vanilla.

Drop by teaspoons on waxed paper or aluminum foil. Allow to cool.

The hardest thing about this recipe is letting the cookies cool enough to set up!

I'd bought regular oats, so I didn't take the pan off the heat right away, but let it cook on medium for a bit. Worked fine. Now I'm wondering if you could use cooled leftover oatmeal, instead of raw. It would make a softer cookie, but it seems as though it would work.

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

I love going through photographs at estate sales. You just never know who'll turn up, or what expressions they'll be wearing, and I've accumulated a small collection of people who made me smile when I saw them, and set me to thinking of collage projects to come.

As part of my reorganizing project, I got them out and put them on display today, using a bead and wire garland and paper clips. They're on the wall facing the door, so now I get to see their faces whenever I walk into my sewing/craft room, which is looking better by the day.

It seemed appropriate to show them off. This is the whole garland of poses. You can sure tell it's in a basement, but I don't mind!

Isn't this little one adorable? I love the dark plaid dress, which seems somehow flamboyant for the times.

And this handsome young man. Who did he marry? What did he become? Was he happy?

This picture is one I study, and wonder about. Were they caught in a moment that symbolized their life together, and their relationship? Each of them stares, unsmiling, in a different direction...

And what on earth put that expression on our birthday boy's face? Don't you just wish you knew? He looks like he's saying, "Yeah. So? What's it to you?"

Do you see just the tiniest bit of impatience in this little face? It must have been tiresome, so stand so still for the camera, with so much of the world still to explore and experience.

These last three make me want to laugh. People are wonderful, aren't they?

Just look at this family, with its beautiful, bespectacled Mama, mustachioed Papa, and two children, one of whose eyebrows are clearly posing a rather imperious question to Somebody.

Ah, the sixties. Gotta love it. Let's watch The Beverly Hillbillies! And I think Grandma here must've been a total lovely-hilarious character!

Last little charmer, a delight who makes me smile every time I see her:I'm still not quite ready to unveil the room in all its (har!) glory, but am surprising myself every day with how much I'm enjoying working on it. Filing can be fun? Who knew?!?